A 32-year-old man from Worthing was arrested for an offence under section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002 and he was taken into custody as enquiries continue, according to a BTP spokesman.

After the incident happened, a thread began on a Facebook group which criticised the amount of officers that attended.

In response, Adur and Worthing Police posted a reply on their Facebook page.

It said: "We have noticed that an incident at Worthing Railway station this morning has attracted some social media attention.

"The station is of course is the responsibility of British Transport Police, but due to the nature of the incident and the risk involved Sussex officers attended immediately.

"We do not wish to go into details of the individual involved other than to say his behaviour was extremely unpredictable.

"The most important thing was to locate and secure this male for his own and the general public’s safety. This was achieved quickly and safely with the male removed from the scene without injury to him, the public or the attending officers.

"Officers not involved directly in his detention were then able to carry on dealing with other incidents.

"What is frustrating and disappointing is to then read a social media post on a Worthing Facebook group page questioning our response in that too many officers attended.

"We understand that the public have a right to question the police but when a situation is resolved quickly and safely as this was we are at a loss as to exactly what some members of the community expect of the police.

"We believe that the vast majority of the public support us and our work, we thank those that have shown this support by challenging this particular Facebook thread. We are working against a backdrop of austerity, however the officers that remain work incredibly hard every day to keep Adur and Worthing as safe as we possibly can."

According to the Government legislation website, Section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002 means that if a constable in uniform has reason to believe that a person has been acting, or is acting, in an anti-social manner, they may require that person to give their name and address to the constable.

Anybody who fails to give his name and address when required to do so or gives false or inaccurate information can go to court.